ReflectionProbe

Inherits: VisualInstance3D < Node3D < Node < Object

Captures its surroundings to create fast, accurate reflections from a given point.

Description

Captures its surroundings as a cubemap, and stores versions of it with increasing levels of blur to simulate different material roughnesses.

The ReflectionProbe is used to create high-quality reflections at a low performance cost (when update_mode is UPDATE_ONCE). ReflectionProbes can be blended together and with the rest of the scene smoothly. ReflectionProbes can also be combined with VoxelGI, SDFGI (Environment.sdfgi_enabled) and screen-space reflections (Environment.ssr_enabled) to get more accurate reflections in specific areas. ReflectionProbes render all objects within their cull_mask, so updating them can be quite expensive. It is best to update them once with the important static objects and then leave them as-is.

Note: Unlike VoxelGI and SDFGI, ReflectionProbes only source their environment from a WorldEnvironment node. If you specify an Environment resource within a Camera3D node, it will be ignored by the ReflectionProbe. This can lead to incorrect lighting within the ReflectionProbe.

Tutorials

Properties

Color

ambient_color

Color(0, 0, 0, 1)

float

ambient_color_energy

1.0

AmbientMode

ambient_mode

1

bool

box_projection

false

int

cull_mask

1048575

bool

enable_shadows

false

Vector3

extents

Vector3(10, 10, 10)

float

intensity

1.0

bool

interior

false

float

max_distance

0.0

float

mesh_lod_threshold

1.0

Vector3

origin_offset

Vector3(0, 0, 0)

UpdateMode

update_mode

0

Enumerations

enum UpdateMode:

  • UPDATE_ONCE = 0 --- Update the probe once on the next frame (recommended for most objects). The corresponding radiance map will be generated over the following six frames. This takes more time to update than UPDATE_ALWAYS, but it has a lower performance cost and can result in higher-quality reflections. The ReflectionProbe is updated when its transform changes, but not when nearby geometry changes. You can force a ReflectionProbe update by moving the ReflectionProbe slightly in any direction.

  • UPDATE_ALWAYS = 1 --- Update the probe every frame. This provides better results for fast-moving dynamic objects (such as cars). However, it has a significant performance cost. Due to the cost, it's recommended to only use one ReflectionProbe with UPDATE_ALWAYS at most per scene. For all other use cases, use UPDATE_ONCE.

enum AmbientMode:

  • AMBIENT_DISABLED = 0 --- Do not apply any ambient lighting inside the ReflectionProbe's extents.

  • AMBIENT_ENVIRONMENT = 1 --- Apply automatically-sourced environment lighting inside the ReflectionProbe's extents.

  • AMBIENT_COLOR = 2 --- Apply custom ambient lighting inside the ReflectionProbe's extents. See ambient_color and ambient_color_energy.

Property Descriptions

Default

Color(0, 0, 0, 1)

Setter

set_ambient_color(value)

Getter

get_ambient_color()

The custom ambient color to use within the ReflectionProbe's extents. Only effective if ambient_mode is AMBIENT_COLOR.

  • float ambient_color_energy

Default

1.0

Setter

set_ambient_color_energy(value)

Getter

get_ambient_color_energy()

The custom ambient color energy to use within the ReflectionProbe's extents. Only effective if ambient_mode is AMBIENT_COLOR.

Default

1

Setter

set_ambient_mode(value)

Getter

get_ambient_mode()

The ambient color to use within the ReflectionProbe's extents. The ambient color will smoothly blend with other ReflectionProbes and the rest of the scene (outside the ReflectionProbe's extents).

  • bool box_projection

Default

false

Setter

set_enable_box_projection(value)

Getter

is_box_projection_enabled()

If true, enables box projection. This makes reflections look more correct in rectangle-shaped rooms by offsetting the reflection center depending on the camera's location.

Note: To better fit rectangle-shaped rooms that are not aligned to the grid, you can rotate the ReflectionProbe node.

  • int cull_mask

Default

1048575

Setter

set_cull_mask(value)

Getter

get_cull_mask()

Sets the cull mask which determines what objects are drawn by this probe. Every VisualInstance3D with a layer included in this cull mask will be rendered by the probe. To improve performance, it is best to only include large objects which are likely to take up a lot of space in the reflection.

  • bool enable_shadows

Default

false

Setter

set_enable_shadows(value)

Getter

are_shadows_enabled()

If true, computes shadows in the reflection probe. This makes the reflection probe slower to render; you may want to disable this if using the UPDATE_ALWAYS update_mode.

Default

Vector3(10, 10, 10)

Setter

set_extents(value)

Getter

get_extents()

The size of the reflection probe. The larger the extents, the more space covered by the probe, which will lower the perceived resolution. It is best to keep the extents only as large as you need them.

Note: To better fit areas that are not aligned to the grid, you can rotate the ReflectionProbe node.

Default

1.0

Setter

set_intensity(value)

Getter

get_intensity()

Defines the reflection intensity. Intensity modulates the strength of the reflection.

Default

false

Setter

set_as_interior(value)

Getter

is_set_as_interior()

If true, reflections will ignore sky contribution.

Default

0.0

Setter

set_max_distance(value)

Getter

get_max_distance()

The maximum distance away from the ReflectionProbe an object can be before it is culled. Decrease this to improve performance, especially when using the UPDATE_ALWAYS update_mode.

Note: The maximum reflection distance is always at least equal to the extents. This means that decreasing max_distance will not always cull objects from reflections, especially if the reflection probe's extents are already large.

  • float mesh_lod_threshold

Default

1.0

Setter

set_mesh_lod_threshold(value)

Getter

get_mesh_lod_threshold()

The automatic LOD bias to use for meshes rendered within the ReflectionProbe (this is analog to Viewport.mesh_lod_threshold). Higher values will use less detailed versions of meshes that have LOD variations generated. If set to 0.0, automatic LOD is disabled. Increase mesh_lod_threshold to improve performance at the cost of geometry detail, especially when using the UPDATE_ALWAYS update_mode.

Note: mesh_lod_threshold does not affect GeometryInstance3D visibility ranges (also known as "manual" LOD or hierarchical LOD).

Default

Vector3(0, 0, 0)

Setter

set_origin_offset(value)

Getter

get_origin_offset()

Sets the origin offset to be used when this ReflectionProbe is in box_projection mode. This can be set to a non-zero value to ensure a reflection fits a rectangle-shaped room, while reducing the number of objects that "get in the way" of the reflection.

Default

0

Setter

set_update_mode(value)

Getter

get_update_mode()

Sets how frequently the ReflectionProbe is updated. Can be UPDATE_ONCE or UPDATE_ALWAYS.